...It is vital to finalize appropriate environment to encourage and diversify investments and orienting them towards promising sectors in our country and to overcome all bureaucratic hindrances which prevent that, mainly as we have developed laws which regulate investments and we have offered all facilitations. It is important to adopt regional planning in our development policies to orient our future projects towards the suitable direction, throughout setting an economic, social, and educational and investment clear map, in the light of needs on one hand and the official tasks of country's region on the other. And in the framework of achieving just and balanced development that is integrated with the orientation towards administrative decentralization in current plans, to guarantee comprehensive development in each regions and governorates in integration and cooperation with other regions and governorates in the country. President Bashar Al Assad Preamble Syrian Investment Agency has the pleasure to present the fourth annual investment report in Syria of 2009 , in continuation of the transparent methodology , in monitoring the most important economic developments with assed in Syria with principal concentration on the most date which monitor's the investment process and its results , especially after application of provisions decree Nr.8 of 2007 . All by depending upon the data base of the SIA . Investment is the real bet and the semi-sole to push economic wheel forward , and to achieve development and prosperity . Many developed countries are taking quick steps towards this truth to make investment wheel the development locomotive. This is why competitiveness among all government investment competent authorities , is very important in all countries in providing investment climate which attracts capitals . Investment in Syria became along recent years . Continuous success story, that is not embodies towards integration by volume of direct investment flows only , but by how they are oriented awards true economic sectors and by increasing the percentage of its actual participation in the GDP , and by its generation in social and economic development process . Today after finalizing all investment aspects in Syria : A qualified investment Agency … launching the investment map which is translated into many languages …. establishing the one-stop-shop …opening branches of the SIA in the most of the Syrian governorates … industrial cities has the authorities of the agency with Syrian missions abroad … yes and after all the aforementioned the door is open now widely for promising investment ingredients , was based on a new strategic vision about investment led by his Excellency President of the Syrian Arab Republic Dr. Bashar Al Assad .. Syria is the heart of the world …. linkage of the four seas in the Middle East . Syria is a free zone between the East and the West . We hope this report shall be a real enrichment for those who are concerned with economic affairs in Syria . We would like to thank and appreciate highly ministries and other public authorities who participated by providing necessary and required information and data . Director General of the Syrian Investment Agency Dr. Ahmad Abdol Aziz Chapter one :Macro Economic indicator - Economic growth rate - State general budget - Economic variables in national economy - According to national account - Inflation - Per capita of the GDP - Unemployment rates - Trade balance - Payment balance - Taxes and duties Chapter Two : Investment climate in Syria - Introduction - Investment encouraging aspects in Syria - Business doing indicator - Most economic and political developments which affect investment climate . - Future vision of investment climate - Legislations which regulate investments in Syria - Tax incentives granted as per decree 8 of 2007 Chapter Three : Syrian Investment Agency - Policies and goals - Administration of the Syrian Investment Agency . - Most important activities of the SIA in 2009 Chapter Four : Investment in Syria as per law Nr.10 of 1991 and legislative decree 8of 2007 - Licensed projects - Executed and under – execution projects - Cancelled projects - Industrial sector - Industrial Cities - Transport sector - Real –Estate sector - Agriculture sector - Health sector - Oil and Mineral resources sector - Distribution of Investment projects according to their legal form . Chapter Five : Investment in other activities and sectors - Tourism sector - Financial sector - Free zones - High education Chapter Six : Foreign direct investments FDI - Distribution of FDI - FDI survey results - Enterprises distribution as per economic activities Chapter Seven : suggestions and recommendations Annex (1) International and Arab agreements Annex (2) List of VIP investors ( The cost of their projects exceeds half milliard S.P Annex(3) List of addresses of important ministries and government authorities . Annex(4) Directory of the most important Syrian election's sites Annex (5) Information about Syria Macro Economic indicator Syrian economic registered a satisfactory performance in relative values within the worst world financial crisis in modern history . It succeeded in avoiding stagnation and negative growth rates registered by countries in the region and in the world . Interior factors had their rate in growth in Syria within 2009 , also progress achieved in foreign political relations , and gradual economic liberalization to create suitable internal business climate , in addition to local investments which became active remarkably , profiting from increasing bank credits granted to private sector , as well as the increase in private consumption due to increasing wages in the previous years . The net effect of variable oil price in 2009 , was very limited because imports of Syria of refined products began to go parallel to export of crude oil from the view point of value where as now oil exports were affected clearly by the slow down witnessed by Syria's partners in foreign trade, with decrease in many transfers of workers outside Syria due to slight decrease in their wages or due to the loss of jobs of some of them in some Arab or western hosting countries . Regional pressures were on FDI , because of the shrinkage of regional liquidity , were compensated partially by the increased trust in Syrian economy as a result of developed political relations in general , as Syria was one of the few countries in the world which witnessed a high number of tourists in 2009. Many policies were adopted to face periodical changes within regional and world economic climate , such as procedures taken by the government to decrease obligatory reserve for industrial sector crediting , to encourage investments , during the crisis . And because the banking sector which is subject to region procedures did not suffer from direct loss due to world crisis , there was no need for a tangible support in the aftermath of the crisis. We find that economic growth prospects are very , now to regional and international up raise indicators and also to interior factors such as the increase of credits by banks working in Syria , and public sectors and also the effect of reforms adopted in infrastructure of business climate in Syria . In this context IMF expected a real growth of 5% for 2010 (5.5 in the average for the five next years) parallel to an inflation , agricultural base in Syria forms a strength point in Syria economy , due to the law cost of workforce and the support by many transfers from abroad , in addition to rigid control system over financial sector and reserved banking activities as well as efforts to apply economic structural and wide reforms . In spite of the fact that Syrian economy has weakness points such as : Low oil production . Bureaucracy . High – rate unemployment . In sufficient role of the banking sector which needs to activate the role of banks in spite of the increase of their numbers and activities in the few last years . But we find strength points in Syrian economy such as : Wide economic capacities , unused resources and great growth possibilities . Important current and potential infrastructure projects . Attractive tourism sector due to increasing foreign interest . Continuous liberalization of financial sector which may contribute to providing more financing to all economic sectors in Syria . On the field of risks many challenges appear and they are linked specifically with general financial ambiguities and continuous interior social pressures and regional political and security risks in general . All risks remain serious challenges but we see that wide opportunities are exceeding risks , because when world economy started to raise up , Syrian economy found a historical opportunity to perform financial and structural reforms to support national economy , starting from openness , economic diversification , and investment promotion . In order to encourage capitals towards national economy and local consumption and increase of investments to achieve gradual improvement in living level in coming years . 1. Economic growth trends : Approximate data by the central Bureau of statistics CBS , refer to that growth rate shall continue increasing to reach 5.9% in 2009 whereas it was 4.3% in 2008 as per the following chart : Figure (1) Economic growth rate within 2001-2009 8 7.5 6.9 6 6.2 5.7 5.9 5 4 3.8 4.3 2 0.6 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Source : (Central Bureau of Statistics data(Expectations)) 2- State public budget : The following table clarifies